Every Day Is Like Sunday
by nostalgia
Summary: AU from Lost City.


Title: Every Day Is Like Sunday  
Author: nostalgia  
Rating: Umm... PG?  
Fandom: Stargate SG-1  
Disclaimer: Not my people. Nope.  
Notes: Goes AU from 'Lost City'. So, spoilers up to that one. Beta'd by greensilver, whee  
Summary: _"I'm going to visit Jack."_

* * *

"I'm going to visit Jack." 

He never wants to have to say it, because she sometimes takes it as reproach. She turns a page in her magazine and shrugs, "Get some milk on your way back." 

"Funny. I was thinking..." - shit - "I was thinking I might mention...us." 

Sam looks up at that, and he's not sure what her eyes are saying. "Why?" 

"Because... because I think he should know?" 

"It isn't Jack." 

He just shrugs. They've had this argument before, and he never wins. 

Thor said that they'd have to keep Jack off Earth in case he broke it. Or rather, Thor said more eloquently, and Daniel subconsciously translated it into Jack. Jack is a language not easily learned by aliens, and Daniel has spent the last seven years running phrases back and forth because the literal translations would have got them kicked back through the 'gate. Which would be lacking in a certain dignity, if nothing else. 

Sure, they'd fought it, but the Asgard have a way of making everything seem perfectly reasonable. Thor hadn't seemed to understand their anger anyway because, like he said, "He will not be dead." And hey, they can always visit. Sometimes. By appoinment. Supervised. 

Jack's keeper is Baldur, (the dying god, the god of tears), running a few experiments in Earth orbit and taking care of the pesky human. Daniel wonders if Baldur likes pets. Certainly he doesn't seem to mind and maybe he even appreciates the company. The Asgard seem to like Jack, and maybe it's the way he pretends not to be impressed by them, or his creative use of language or maybe just the way he smells. 

Ironically enough, Daniel has never been one for conspiracy theories. 

Jack is sitting by the window staring out at the South Pacific. Australia is creeping in from the left, and right at the bottom is a sliver of what is not, in fact, the location of the lost city. He doesn't look round, and maybe that should worry Daniel. The glass is non-reflective. But then, it isn't even glass. 

"You didn't bring Carter?" 

Even now it's weird to hear her name in a gabble of Ancient. It's the little glimpses of normality that make this whole thing seem even more messed up. "Not this time. Maybe... maybe next time or..." 

"I was going to tell her about the stars." 

"You could tell me." 

"You wouldn't understand." Jack gets distracted by a cloud formation over Java. "She's never going to come here. She'll never forgive me." 

Daniel wants to press that, but Jack's more interested in the play of atmosphere and planet, and he's not sure he got the translation right anyway. Forgive him for what? 

"We get TV up here," says Jack, apropos of nothing. 

"Yeah. You said." 

He looks round finally, grinning. "All the channels. And for free. The Danish make some great pornography, right, Baldur?" 

The Asgard blinks, "I have no means of comparison, but I have no reason to believe otherwise." 

Jack nods and leans forward conspiratorially, "He's a man of great art." 

"Asgard of great art," says Daniel and Jack laughs. 

"Same thing."

Baldur makes a noise like a cough made by someone who's just picked up the gesture. "Jack..." 

"Oh, come on, we're all friends here. It's not like it's a big deal." 

This is the reason the Asgard keep Jack, and it's their version of mercy that lets him stay so near his home. The Asgard don't really understand humans. 

"You still watch hockey?" 

"Sometimes. It's not really the same without beer though." 

"They don't...?" 

Jack waves a hand in a vague gesture. "Messes with... whatever they did to me." 

"Wow. That..." 

"Sucks." 

"Yeah." 

As usual they have nothing to talk about. Not the nothing they used to spend hours arguing about, or the nothing that made them laugh to the point of phyical pain. Just... nothing. It's like visiting a sick relative; Daniel never knows quite what to say. 

It's a pathetic release when their time is finally up. Daniel makes excuses about the language making his head hurt, and Jack just nods and goes back to watching the Earth. 

Daniel's halfway across the room when Jack speaks again; "You bring her next time?" 

"Umm... Jack... look..." 

"You're sleeping with her." 

Daniel blinks, "How did you..?" 

Jack just shrugs, "It's kind of obvious." 

"Does it bother you?" 

Another shrug; "It would have before... y'know. It doesn't really seem that important anymore. It's not even the most effective means of reproduction." 

Daniel shivers and wonders if the Asgard air-conditioning's gone weird. "Anyway. I'll see you. And I'll ask Sam. OK?" 

"Sure. You know the way out?" 

"Yeah." 

Thor says Jack isn't dead. Daniel isn't quite so sure. 


End file.
